


sunrise;

by cosmicpoet



Series: shuake week 2019 [5]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 15:54:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21079400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicpoet/pseuds/cosmicpoet
Summary: Goro works at a little office, not hating or liking his job, until he's approached by a new employee.





	sunrise;

Goro makes it a habit to get into work early every day - not only does he get to beat the early-morning traffic, but he gets to take claim over the coffee machine before the inevitable queue of tired employees seeping through the door makes it impossible to even access the kitchen. As much as his childhood dreams still cling to him, of being a detective, a hero, of _helping people, _the sad fact of life is that he has to pay rent on his small apartment and make ends meet whilst he finishes his studies.

Working full time and balancing a masters degree in Criminology leaves him with little time to enjoy himself, but there’s never really been time in his life for that anyway; being bounced between foster homes and schools until he managed to break free on his own at age eighteen, a mere five years ago now, means that he’ll cling onto anything that he can call _his _and never let go. Which, perhaps, explains a lot about his personality and behaviours - the way he’s determined to prove himself, to wear some sort of mask so that people will _like him, _all whilst fiercely protecting everything, from his reputation right down to the coffee machine in front of which he stands.

It’s a Friday, which means that he’ll finally be able to catch up on his university work over the weekend, so long as he keeps on top of everything today and doesn’t leave himself with any stock reports or customer calls to finish post-5pm. He sighs into his hands, careful not to rub off any of the meticulously-applied concealer around his eyes and on his freckles, after which he reaches blindly for the coffee pot only to find that his hand grasps the air around where it should be.

Opening his eyes and resisting the urge to roll them, he sees one of the newer employees at the firm, although his name escapes Goro for the moment, pouring the coffee that _Goro _made into his own mug. It’s such a little thing, but the combination of the bad night’s sleep he had last night and the blatant _audacity _of this man sends Goro into a spiral of internal rage, something that he can’t risk showing on his face. Instead, he just waits with a plastered, faux-pleasant smile, until the man has finished pouring his coffee, and then he pours his own.

The man doesn’t leave.

“Goro, right?”

_“Akechi,” _Goro replies.

“I’m Akira Kurusu.”

“Okay.”

“Sorry, was that your coffee?” Akira asks.

“Well, yes. No harm done though,” he _lies, _“although I will say I didn’t expect anyone else to be in this early.”

“My cat fucked with my clock last night and set it forward an hour. Thought I was going to be late.”

“That’s unfortunate. But I suppose accidents happen.”

“Yeah, I guess. What is there to do around here in the mornings?”

“Not much, honestly,” Goro replies, “I just try to get some work done so that the rest of the day is easier.”

“Ugh, boring,” Akira says, “come show me round.”

“I’m sure they had someone do that for your induction. How long ago was that, three weeks?”

“Three and a half.”

“Exactly. So you should know the layout of the building by now, you don’t need me.”

“‘Course I do.”

“What could you possibly want to know about this office building? Everything’s well signposted and it’s practically impossible to get lost, Kurusu.”

“Well,” Akira says, taking a methodically long sip of his coffee and - it _could _just be a trick of the light - giving Goro a wink, “what are all the dirty secrets of this place? Office romances? Where do people go to fuck or get high?”

“Are you planning on doing either of those things? I could report you, you know.”

“Nah, I’m not. But I want to know.”

_“Why _the hell would you want to know that?”

“‘Cause I don’t just wanna work here on a surface level, you know.”

Goro sighs. “I get the feeling that you’re not going to leave me alone.”

“I will if you show me.”

“That’s blackmail.”

Akira laughs a little, putting his coffee cup down on the counter and grabbing onto Goro’s arm. As much as he _wants _to pull away, there’s a familiar twinkle in Akira’s eyes that sings of wonder and belief, things that Goro hasn’t felt in, well, decades. 

And, for some reason, he goes along with Akira, despite the fact that he’s not _leading _as much as _being led. _They go up the stairs to the top of the building, standing in front of the door to the roof access; he looks over and sees a smirk plastered across Akira’s face, devious and childlike.

“We can’t go through there, we’re not allowed on the roof,” Goro says, deadpan.

“And? Rules are made to be broken.”

“You’re exhausting. Both of us could get fired.”

“Nah, nobody else is in at this time. C’mon, let’s check it out for a bit.”

“What’s the point?”

“Fun.”

“I don’t get it,” Goro sighs.

“Sometimes you just have to do things because _why not?”_

“I’m not putting my job on the line for someone I barely know.”

“Five minutes. I just wanna see.”

Goro tries the handle of the door. “See? It’s locked,” he says.

“Not anymore,” Akira counters, pulling something out of his pocket and inserting it into the lock, fiddling around for a moment before a _click _is heard and the door opens. For a moment, Goro braces himself for some sort of alarm to go off, but there’s only silence, punctuated by Akira’s gentle laughter.

“You’re exhausting. But fine, five minutes. I won’t let anyone call me a coward.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“Let’s just go,” Goro says, not wanting to admit that the thrill of this risk is something he’s been sadly lacking recently, and were it not for his better judgement, he might actually say that he’s _enjoying himself._

Akira walks out onto the roof, looking behind him to see that Goro is following. It’s winter, so the sun hasn’t fully come up, and the temperature outside is colder than Goro would have liked; he crosses his arms across his chest and joins Akira at the edge of the building, sitting down next to him.

They don’t say anything, but in the span of the next five minutes, Goro goes from annoyed to - dare he say it - mildly comfortable. Just watching the cars below, the whole city waking up, fills him with a sense of pride to have accomplished something so early in the morning. When Akira, who is growing on him more and more by the second, rests his head on Goro’s shoulder, he doesn’t pull away.

And the sun comes up.

**Author's Note:**

> What is it with me and office AUs?


End file.
